Coffee is slightly acidic and has a stimulating effect on humans because of its caffeine content. Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. It can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, café latte, etc.). It is usually served hot, although iced coffee is a popular alternative. Clinical studies indicate that moderate coffee consumption is benign or mildly beneficial in healthy adults, with continuing research on whether long-term consumption lowers the risk of some diseases, although there is generally poor quality of such studies.

A cup of coffee with added milk

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking appears in Yemen in southern Arabia in the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines.It was here in Arabia that coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed in a similar way to how it is now prepared. Coffee seeds were first exported from East Africa to Yemen, as the Coffea arabica plant is thought to have been indigenous to the former. Yemeni traders took coffee back to their homeland and began to cultivate the seed. By the 16th century, it had reached Persia, Turkey, and North Africa. From there, it spread to Europe and the rest of the world.

Brazil is the leading grower of coffee, producing one-third of the world total in 2016. Coffee is a major export commodity: it is the top agricultural export for numerous countries and is among the world’s largest legal agricultural exports. It is one of the most valuable commodities exported by developing countries. Green (unroasted) coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and the way developed countries trade with developing nations and the impact of its cultivation on the environment, in regards to the clearing of land for coffee-growing and water.

The nature of metals has fascinated humans for many centuries, because these materials provided people with tools of unsurpassed properties both in war and in their preparation and processing. Pure gold and silver have been known to humans since the Stone Age. Lead and silver were fused from their ores as early as the fourth millennium BC.

Ancient Latin and Greek writers such as Theophrastus, Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, or Pedanius Dioscorides, did not try to classify metals. The ancient Europeans never attained the concept “metal” as a distinct elementary substance with fixed, characteristic chemical and physical properties. Following Empedocles, all substances within the sublunary sphere were assumed to vary in their constituent classical elements of earth, water, air and fire. Following the Pythagoreans, Plato assumed that these elements could be further reduced to plane geometrical shapes (triangles and squares) bounding space and relating to the regular polyhedra in the sequence earth:cube, water:icosahedron, air:octahedron, fire:tetrahedron. However, this philosophical extension did not become as popular as the simple four elements, after it was rejected by Aristotle. Aristotle also rejected the atomic theory of Democritus, since he classified the implied existence of a vacuum necessary for motion as a contradiction (a vacuum implies nonexistence, therefore cannot exist). Aristotle did, however, introduce underlying antagonistic qualities (or forces) of dry vs. wet and cold vs. heat into the composition of each of the four elements. The word “metal” originally meant “mines” and only later gained the general meaning of products from materials obtained in mines. In the first centuries A.D. a relation between the planets and the existing metals was assumed as Gold:Sun, Silver:Moon, Electrum:Jupiter, Iron:Mars, Copper:Venus, Tin:Mercury, Lead:Saturn. After electrum was determined to be a combination of silver and gold, the relations Tin:Jupiter and Mercury:Mercury were substituted into the previous sequence.

Arabic and medieval alchemists believed that all metals, and in fact, all sublunar matter, were composed of the principle of sulfur, carrying the combustible property, and the principle of mercury, the mother of all metals and carrier of the liquidity or fusibility, and the volatility properties. These principles were not necessarily the common substances sulfur and mercury found in most laboratories. This theory reinforced the belief that the all metals were destined to become gold in the bowels of the earth through the proper combinations of heat, digestion, time, and elimination of contaminants, all of which could be developed and hastened through the knowledge and methods of alchemy. Paracelsus added the third principle of salt, carrying the nonvolatile and incombustible properties, in his tria prima doctrine. These theories retained the four classical elements as underlying the composition of sulfur, mercury and salt.

The first systematic text on the arts of mining and metallurgy was De la Pirotechnia by Vannoccio Biringuccio, which treats the examination, fusion, and working of metals. Sixteen years later, Georgius Agricola published De Re Metallica in 1555, a clear and complete account of the profession of mining, metallurgy, and the accessory arts and sciences, as well as qualifying as the greatest treatise on the chemical industry through the sixteenth century. He gave the following description of a metal in his De Natura Fossilium (1546).

Metal is a mineral body, by nature either liquid or somewhat hard. The latter may be melted by the heat of the fire, but when it has cooled down again and lost all heat, it becomes hard again and resumes its proper form. In this respect it differs from the stone which melts in the fire, for although the latter regain its hardness, yet it loses its pristine form and properties. Traditionally there are six different kinds of metals, namely gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead. There are really others, for quicksilver is a metal, although the Alchemists disagree with us on this subject, and bismuth is also. The ancient Greek writers seem to have been ignorant of bismuth, wherefore Ammonius rightly states that there are many species of metals, animals, and plants which are unknown to us. Stibium when smelted in the crucible and refined has as much right to be regarded as a proper metal as is accorded to lead by writers. If when smelted, a certain portion be added to tin, a bookseller’s alloy is produced from which the type is made that is used by those who print books on paper. Each metal has its own form which it preserves when separated from those metals which were mixed with it. Therefore neither electrum nor Stannum [not meaning our tin] is of itself a real metal, but rather an alloy of two metals. Electrum is an alloy of gold and silver, Stannum of lead and silver. And yet if silver be parted from the electrum, then gold remains and not electrum; if silver be taken away from Stannum, then lead remains and not Stannum. Whether brass, however, is found as a native metal or not, cannot be ascertained with any surety. We only know of the artificial brass, which consists of copper tinted with the colour of the mineral calamine. And yet if any should be dug up, it would be a proper metal. Black and white copper seem to be different from the red kind. Metal, therefore, is by nature either solid, as I have stated, or fluid, as in the unique case of quicksilver. But enough now concerning the simple kinds.

The practice of decorating soldiers’ graves with flowers is an ancient custom.[5] Soldiers’ graves were decorated in the U.S. before[6] and during the American Civil War.

Some believe that an annual cemetery decoration practice began before the American Civil War and thus may reflect the real origin of the “memorial day” idea.[7] Annual Decoration Days for particular cemeteries are still held on a Sunday in late spring or early summer in some rural areas of the American South, notably in the mountain areas. In cases involving a family graveyard where remote ancestors as well as those who were deceased more recently are buried, this may take on the character of an extended family reunion to which some people travel hundreds of miles. People gather, put flowers on graves and renew contacts with relatives and others. There often is a religious service and a picnic-like “dinner on the grounds,” the traditional term for a potluck meal at a church.[7]

On June 3, 1861, Warrenton, Virginia was the location of the first Civil War soldier’s grave ever to be decorated, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper article in 1906.[8] In 1862, women in Savannah, Georgia decorated Confederate soldiers’ graves according to the Savannah Republican.[9] The 1863 cemetery dedication at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was a ceremony of commemoration at the graves of dead soldiers. On July 4, 1864, ladies decorated soldiers’ graves according to local historians in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.[10] and Boalsburg promotes itself as the birthplace of Memorial Day.[11]

In April 1865, following President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, commemorations were ubiquitous. The more than 600,000 soldiers of both sides who died in the Civil War meant that burial and memorialization took on new cultural significance. Under the leadership of women during the war, an increasingly formal practice of decorating graves had taken shape. In 1865, the federal government began creating national military cemeteries for the Union war dead.[12]

On May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina, recently freed African-Americans held a parade of 10,000 people to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers, whose remains they had reburied from a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp.[13]Historian David W. Blight discovered contemporary news reports of this forgotten incident in the Charleston Daily Courier and the New-York Tribune. Blight claimed that “African Americans invented Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina”,[14] In 2012, Blight stated that he “has no evidence” that the event in Charleston inspired the establishment of Memorial Day across the country.[15]

In 1868, copying a southern annual observance,[16] General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans founded in Decatur, Illinois, established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Union war dead with flowers.[17] By the 20th century, various Union and Confederate memorial traditions, celebrated on different days, merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.[1]

On May 26, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson designated an “official” birthplace of the holiday by signing the presidential proclamation naming Waterloo, New York, as the holder of the title. This action followed House Concurrent Resolution 587, in which the 89th Congress had officially recognized that the patriotic tradition of observing Memorial Day had begun one hundred years prior in Waterloo, New York.[18] The village credits druggist Henry C. Welles and county clerk John B. Murray as the founders of the holiday. Scholars have determined that the Waterloo account is a myth.[19] Snopes and Live Science also discredit the Waterloo account.[20][21]

In the North

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan issued a proclamation calling for “Decoration Day” to be observed annually and nationwide; he was commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of and for Union Civil War veterans.[7] With his proclamation, Logan adopted the Memorial Day practice that had begun in the Southern states three years earlier.[22][23][24]

The first northern Memorial Day was observed on May 30, 1868. One author claims that the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of any particular battle.[25] According to a White House address in 2010, the date was chosen as the optimal date for flowers to be in bloom in the North.[26]

The northern states quickly adopted the holiday. In 1868, memorial events were held in 183 cemeteries in 27 states, and 336 in 1869.[27] In 1871, Michigan made “Decoration Day” an official state holiday and by 1890, every northern state had followed suit. There was no standard program for the ceremonies, but they were typically sponsored by the Women’s Relief Corps, the women’s auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), which had 100,000 members. By 1870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Union dead had been reinterred in 73 national cemeteries, located near major battlefields and thus mainly in the South. The most famous are Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania and Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.[28]

Memorial Day speeches became an occasion for veterans, politicians, and ministers to commemorate the Civil War and, at first, to rehash the “atrocities” of the enemy. They mixed religion and celebratory nationalism for the people to make sense of their history in terms of sacrifice for a better nation. People of all religious beliefs joined together and the point was often made that the German and Irish soldiers had become true Americans in the “baptism of blood” on the battlefield.[29]

By the 1880s, ceremonies were becoming quite similar as the GAR provided handbooks that presented specific procedures, poems, and Bible verses for local post commanders to utilize in planning the local event. Historian Stuart McConnell reports:

on the day itself, the post assembled and marched to the local cemetery to decorate the graves of the fallen, an enterprise meticulously organized months in advance to assure that none were missed. Finally came a simple and subdued graveyard service involving prayers, short patriotic speeches, and music…and at the end perhaps a rifle salute.[32]

The soursop is adapted to areas of high humidity and relatively warm winters; temperatures below 5 °C (41 °F) will cause damage to leaves and small branches, and temperatures below 3 °C (37 °F) can be fatal. The fruit becomes dry and is no longer good for concentrate.

With aroma similar to pineapple,[5] the flavor of the fruit has been described as a combination of strawberries and apple, and sour citrus flavor notes, contrasting with an underlying creamy texture reminiscent of coconut or banana.

The flesh of the fruit consists of an edible, white pulp, some fiber, and a core of indigestible black seeds. The pulp is also used to make fruit nectar, smoothies, fruit juice drinks, as well as candies, sorbets, and ice cream flavorings.[4][5]

Due to the fruit’s widespread cultivation and popularity in parts of Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, soursop and its derivative products are consumed across the world, also via branded food and beverage products available in many countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United States, the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

In Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and Harar (Ethiopia), it is a common fruit, often used for dessert as the only ingredient, or as an agua fresca beverage; in Colombia and Venezuela, it is a fruit for juices, mixed with milk. In Cuba, a thick smoothie made of soursop pulp, milk and cane sugar goes by the name of champola. Ice cream and fruit bars made of soursop are common.[4][5] The seeds are normally left in the preparation, and removed while consuming, unless a blender is used for processing.

In Indonesia, dodol sirsak, a sweetmeat, is made by boiling soursop pulp in water and adding sugar until the mixture hardens. Soursop is also a common ingredient for making fresh fruit juices that are sold by street food vendors. In the Philippines, it is called guyabano, derived from the Spanish guanábana, and is eaten ripe, or used to make juices, smoothies, or ice cream. Sometimes, they use the leaf in tenderizing meat. In Vietnam, this fruit is called mãng cầu Xiêm (Siamese Soursop) in the south, or mãng cầu (Soursop) in the north, and is used to make smoothies, or eaten as is. In Cambodia, this fruit is called tearb barung, literally “western custard-apple fruit.” In Malaysia, it is known in Malayas durian belanda and in East Malaysia, specifically among the Dusun people of Sabah, it is locally known as lampun. Popularly, it is eaten raw when it ripens, or used as one of the ingredients in Ais Kacang or Ais Batu Campur. Usually the fruits are taken from the tree when they mature and left to ripen in a dark corner, whereafter they will be eaten when they are fully ripe. It has a white flower with a very pleasing scent, especially in the morning. While for people in Brunei Darussalam this fruit is popularly known as “Durian Salat”, widely available and easily planted.

1. Durian

Durian is a large, spiky fruit native to Southeast Asia. It’s famous for its pungent aroma and savory smell that is sometimes described as fried onions While foreigners often have a tough time stomaching the smell, it’s much loved in many parts of Asia.

At our tasting, we cracked into it last, so that it wouldn’t interfere with our other flavors. Everyone tried it but only a few people liked it. The best description I heard for the strong flavor was “garlic pudding.” One #FruitCrawl attendee took some home and said she planned to make a durian cheesecake!

Where to find it: Asian grocers, typically sold whole and frozen. In the Bay Area,

Perhaps the most important life skill is the ability and willingness to learn.

By learning new skills we increase our understanding of the world around us and equip ourselves with the tools we need to live a more productive and fulfilling life, finding ways to cope with the challenges that life, inevitably, throws at us.

Life skills are not always taught directly but often learned indirectly through experience and practice.

Personal Skills

Personal Skills are the essential life skills we need to help maintain a healthy body and mind.

Anger and Stress can both be detrimental to our personal relationships and our health. Learning about anger and stress, recognising what may trigger them (in ourselves and others), what the symptoms are and how to control or manage such emotions can greatly enhance our the quality of our lives.

Many people battle with low self-esteem and confidence which can cause stress and prevent them from reaching their full potential.

Interpersonal Communication Skills

Interpersonal Skills are the skills we use when interacting directly with other people. For example, at a basic level, we use both verbal and non-verbal communication techniques when engaged in a face-to-face conversation.

We also use listening skills. Well-developed listening skills are key to understanding and empathising with others.

Do you listen effectively? Do you fully understand the messages being conveyed? Or are you more focussed on what you will say next?

Effective listening skills, together with techniques such as clarification and reflection, can help prevent misunderstanding. Our Interpersonal Skills library includes pages to help you develop:

There are potentially many barriers to effective communication in any communication situation. Unfortunately these barriers can hinder the communication process and lead to misunderstanding or even conflict. It is therefore essential for a strong communicator to be aware of such barriers and to find ways to communicate and work around them.

Learning how to effectively negotiate in a variety of situations has obvious advantages to your life. Negotiation is about being assertive, avoiding conflict or argument, and, where possible, working towards an outcome that suits all parties involved (a Win-Win situation).

Much emphasis is given to problem-solving and decision-making in the modern workplace, and these skills are also very desirable and useful in our day-to-day lives. Learn some techniques to help you solve problems and make decisions

The Hunger Project is an organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. It has ongoing programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where it implements programs aimed at mobilizing rural grassroots communities to achieve sustainable progress in health, education, nutrition and family income.

In Africa, THP implements what it calls “the Epicenter strategy”, organizing clusters of 10 to 15 villages to construct community centers, partner with local government agencies and community-based organizations, and establish and manage their own programs for microfinance, improved agriculture, food-processing, income-generation, adult literacy, food security, and primary health-care (including the prevention of HIV/AIDS).

In India, THP facilitates the mobilization and training of elected women panchayat leaders. In Bangladesh, THP conducts trainings focused on gender issues and leadership for local leaders who then organize local meetings, lead workshops and initiate campaigns against early marriage and dowry, malnutrition, maternal and child mortality, gender discrimination, and inequality, illiteracy and corruption. In Latin America, THP works with communities to overcome economic marginalization, particularly that of the indigenous women.

Dionne Warwick represented the charity on the US TV series The Celebrity Apprentice in Season 11 (which was aired in early 2011) and was fired before any money was made for donation. She left the show abruptly.

n Uganda, The Hunger Project (THP) employs measures to facilitate the mobilization and growth of capital, as well as creating partnerships to alleviate food and health issues.

In 2009, THP-Uganda implemented the Microfinance program to improve food security and reduce poverty. The Microfinance program is a training, savings and credit program; enabling the targeted poor who traditionally lack access to banking and related services to get small loans with the purpose of engaging in income-generating activities.

The program consists of 2 phases: Direct Credit and Rural Bank.

A Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) of about US$20,000 is allocated to a center, with the center’s community electing its own people into the loan committee to manage the RLF. The funds go through a cycle of disbursement to the community, repayment of the loans from community members, and disbursement again. Through this process, the funds grow via accumulated interest.

After 4 to 5 years into the Direct Credit phase, if the microfinance operation in the community meets the level of criteria set by the government, the operation can apply to evolve into a savings and credit cooperative (Rural bank). All members of the community may deposit savings and access credit from the Rural Bank. The THP stops giving assistance to the Rural Bank when it becomes operationally self-sufficient in the next 2 years.

The Rural Bank is able to mobilise the community’s wealth to create more wealth, as well as meeting its aim of providing the community with sustainable access to savings and credit facilities . In practice, the program saw success as THP’s Iganga Epicenter Rural Bank in Uganda was named the “Best SACCO (Savings and Credit Cooperative) of 2009” by the District Commercial Office of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry.

THP’s contributions to the whole operation include the gifting of RLF to start the whole process, payment of the Rural bank manager’s salary for the first 2 years to secure full compliance, and assistance in the preparation of reports for the appropriate government office.

Additionally, with the aim of solving food and health issues, THP has initiated a partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to address the adverse impact of disease on crops that ultimately threaten food security. The staple food crop of Uganda is cassava, of which production is greatly constrained by pests and diseases, especially the African cassava mosaic virus. The partnership enabled the education of Ugandan farmers through grants of laptops with inbuilt training courses on group management, cassava multiplication, pests and diseases. Farmers were also taught on and given access to disease-free high-yielding cassava variety MH97/2961.This arrangement has improved household incomes and food security for a total of 1,455 partners in the last three years.

The Hunger Project raises funds, via contributions, in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. According to its online report retrieved February 2007, Charity Navigator reports that The Hunger Project’s program costs in FY2005 were 80.2% of expenses, and administrative and fundraising costs were 19.8%. Give.org/BBB reports that as of December 2006, the Project’s program expenses were 77% of total, and administrative and fundraising costs 23% and meets all of its standards.Charity Navigator gives The Hunger Project four out of four stars,and the American Institute of Philanthropy gives it an A- rating.

The Hunger Project met the standards to be listed on the 2004 Combined Federal Campaign National List and the Commonwealth of Virginia 2005 Charity Application.

The Alzheimer’s Association was founded by Jerome H. Stone with the help of several family members in Chicago, Illinois and incorporated in April 10, 1980 as the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. and is a non-profitAmerican volunteer health organization which focuses on care, support and research for Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association is the largest non-profit funder of Alzheimer’s disease research. The organization has chapters and communities across the nation, with its national office located in Chicago and the public policy office in Washington D.C. Its mission is “to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.

Jerome H. Stone founded the Alzheimer’s Association with the help of several family support groups after meeting with the National Institute on Aging in 1979. Jerome Stone Alzheimer’s research efforts began in 1970 when his wife was first diagnosed with the disease. During the 1970’s there was very few information available about the Alzheimer’s disease. Only a few support groups existed at the time. Through his research efforts he joined with seven independent groups who wanted to form a national organization. The groups consisted of researchers, physicians, caregivers and other humanitarians. Together they held their first official meeting on December 4,1979 to discuss solutions for the need for Alzheimer’s information, care, and cure for the disease.

The Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association was incorporated on April 10, 1980. In that year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invested $13 million in Alzheimer’s disease research. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan designated the first National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Week. With sub-chapters being founded nationwide, the organization launched its own research programs.

Rita Hayworth Galas

In 1980 actress and dancer Rita Hayworth was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which contributed to her death in 1987 at the age of 68. The public disclosure and discussion of her illness drew international attention to Alzheimer’s disease, a disease that had been virtually forgotten by the medical community since its discovery in 1906, and helped to greatly increase public and private funding for Alzheimer’s disease research. The Rita Hayworth Gala, a benefit for the Alzheimer’s Association, is held annually in Chicago and New York City.The program was founded in May 1985 by Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, in honor of her mother.

A Night at Sardi’s

Started in 1992 by Laurie Burrows Grad in memory of her father writer/director and Pulitzer Prize winner Abe Burrows who died from Alzheimer’s disease, A Night at Sardi’s was an evening of entertainment that has raised over $28 million to address this rapidly growing health crisis. The benefit originally chaired by Burrows Grad and her husband, Peter Grad, was held for the last time on March 9, 2016, and raised over 1.5 million dollars. This 24th and final “A Night at Sardi’s” was chaired by Burrows Grad, James Burrows and Nicholas Grad, honoring and paying tribute to Laurie’s late husband with the Philanthropy Award.

Blondes vs. Brunettes/RivALZ

Blondes vs. Brunettes Powderpuff football games were started by Sara Allen Abbott whose father, Texas State Representative Joseph Hugh Allen, died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2008. Looking for a way to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Association, Abbott organized a powder puff football game in tribute to her father, a lifelong football fan. The game is now played in 16 cities and Abbott has received national recognition for her efforts in raising over $2 million for the Alzheimer’s Association.

In 2014, “Blondes vs. Brunettes” grew into “RivALZ”.

Advocacy Forum

The Alzheimer’s Association Advocacy Forum is an annual gathering that takes place in the spring in Washington D.C. The multi-day event includes training sessions, celebrity guests, banquets, multi-media experiences and topical presentations focusing on Alzheimer’s disease policy-making and legislation. The feature of the event is a lobby day during which time attendees conduct meetings with members of Congress on Capitol Hill. Past guest speakers and attendees include Seth Rogen, Soleil Moon-Frye, David Hyde Pierce, Lisa Genova, political commentators Frank Luntz and Charlie Cook and members of Congress.

Paint the Night Purple

This is an annual winter fundraiser that is hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association Illinois Junior Board. It brings together young professionals from across Chicago, this event includes live entertainment, and a silent auction, where all proceeds are gifted back to the charity. Just recently ending their 5th annual fundraiser, this is the Junior Board’s largest and longest running fundraiser.

Photo from Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Lansing, Michigan.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event, hosted by The Alzheimer’s Association, to bring awareness to Alzheimer’s care. This even is held once a year in over 600 communities nationwide, brings together people of different ages, backgrounds and

relationships to the disease to join the battle to fight against the disease.

In 2000, the Alzheimer’s Association anticipated establishing and running the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) and has made improvements in attendance, conceptual submissions and research-based presentations, and media relationships. The purpose of the AAIC is to join researchers together from all around the globe to report and converse about innovative research and data on the source, findings, cure, and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and associated illnesses. The AAIC is held annually and is the world’s only largest forum for sharing research regarding the dementia research community.

They create thousands of nonconcrete submissions and hold more than 2,000 scientific meetings to touch the millions of people affected by Alzheimer’s with the use of print newspapers, radio broadcasting, and television newscast exposure. The AAIC has gained news coverage from ABC, the BBC, CBS, CNN, NBC, the Associated Press, Reuters, Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, WebMD.com and Forbes.com.Through the customs of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD), the AAIC attempts to gather authority figures from more than 70 different countries to network and converse the most current dementia research outcomes and ideas in 2018.

Established in 2010, the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) is a registered 501 advocacy organization that works in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association.AIM is a membership organization that is non-partisan, non-profit, and their objective is to make Alzheimer’s disease a national importance. AIM supports policies designed to find an end to Alzheimer’s disease through improved investments in research, enhanced care and support, and the advancement of methods designed to decrease the chance of developing dementia.AIM and the Alzheimer’s Association offers a 24/7 helpline to provide advice, information, and support for those living with Alzheimer’s disease, their caretakers, medical experts, and the community. AIM is a sister organization of the Alzheimer’s Association, which has a voluntary and non-partisan political action committee, AIMPAC. AIMPAC is the political side of AIM, their goal is to inform members of Congress about the serious problems of Alzheimer’s disease with the help of the main concerns of the Alzheimer’s Association.

During the 2015 and 2016 United States Presidential primary season, AIM supporters pressured each of the candidates for their individual ideas to end Alzheimer’s. In the 2016 Presidential Election, AIM and the Alzheimer’s Association distributed a national voter survey and results showed that 73 million voters in America knew someone close to them with Alzheimer’s disease.

When an organization is affiliated with the national Alzheimer’s Association, they become responsible for paying dues. The dues go to the national chapter (Alzheimer’s Association of Chicago). The Alzheimer’s Association of Chicago can take up for 40% of revenue per year from each chapter affiliated with them.Currently, the funding for Alzheimer’s research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is below $1.4 billion each year.Due to charitable funding, the Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant Program, has devoted over $385 million dollars to over 2,500 best-of-field grant propositions, creating field-changing improvements. The Alzheimer’s Association has funded more than $375 million dollars in committed research assignments around the world and given $12 million to researchers in Illinois.

In 2015, it was in the talks for over 56 independent Alzheimer’s related associations would come together under one roof- that roof being of The Alzheimer’s Association of Chicago. The Alzheimer’s Association of Chicago is the home base for a majority of Alzheimer’s related charities across the nation. The Alzheimer’s Association of Chicago has had reoccurring speculations of issues pertaining to money allocation. This has been picked up by local Chicago news sources like the Chicago Tribune. A possible disaffiliation with national chapter might be beneficial for its growth. It would essentially be breaking apart from itself into two separate organizations- one local and one national.The local would have to start fresh, unlike the San Dieigo association that was an already established stand alone association that became affiliated to its national peer.

Since the Alzheimer’s Association was founded the number of chapters has consolidated from 221 chapters in 1993 to 56 independent chapters now. Within those 56 chapters only 27 of them have agreed to unify under the national association. Prior to the vote, there had been previous chapters that chose to breakaway from the national association due to the high fees required from the national association. North Carolina’s chapter was one of four chapters that had departed in the past nine years. The chapter’s executive director, Alice Watkins, admitted that following the breakaway, the chapter had faced trouble fundraising but has since begun to settle overall making the breakaway the right decision for the charter to make. Since spending on Alzheimer’s research has decreased at the national level despite the increase of money acquired through the high fees from independent chapters, the remaining independent chapters remain resistant to consolidate. The chapters have no real input about how the money is used through the consolidation plan, and are only given advisory roles at the national level despite being active participants in the fundraising.

The Alzheimer’s Association has partaken in many opportunities to assist in diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s Disease. In 1987 the Alzheimer’s Association teamed up with the NIA and Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Company (now known as Pfizer) and helped launch and recruit participants for clinical trials of the first drug to specifically target symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease. In 1995, the Alzheimer’s Association funded the development of a mouse model of a rare neurodegenerative disorder, thus laying down the technical foundation for Alzheimer’s mouse models. In 2003, the Alzheimer’s Association partnered with the NIA in finding participants for the National Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Study in order to identify Alzheimer’s risk in genes.

In 2004, researchers shared their first findings on an imaging agent called Pittsburg Compound B (PIB), a major potential breakthrough in disease monitoring and early detection that the Alzheimer’s Association provided significant support to. In that same year, the Alzheimer’s Association joined-in to sponsor the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, a nationwide study that aims to create a standardized method for obtaining and interpreting brain images.In 2005, the Alzheimer’s Association launched “Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association in hopes to further support a worldwide, interdisciplinary exchange within the Alzheimer’s research community.In 2008, in hopes to maintain or improve the cognitive performance of adults, the Alzheimer’s Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Healthy Brain Initiative. In that same year, the Alzheimer’s Association created the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART). In 2011, three workgroups brought together by the Alzheimer’s Association and the NIA updated the information and guidelines for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease and came up with research criteria to define a new preclinical stage

A simple, sensuous dance originating from the Dominican Republic, the colorful roots of Bachata are reflected in its romantic motions and accompanying music. Today, this passionate form of dance is popular all over Latin America and beyond. Bachata is relatively easy for learners and allows dance masters plenty of freedom to flaunt their skills.

2

Hold your partner. In Bachata, there are two basic positions for holding your partner – open position and closed position. Open position puts more space between the two partners, as they make contact only through their hands. Open position allows more space and flexibility when it comes to advanced moves like turns. Closed position, on the other hand, is somewhat more intimate, as it involves an arm draped across the lady’s back and slight-to-strong contact between the two partners’ bodies. Closed position is more common in modern clubs and dance halls owing to cramped floor space. See below for instructions on both positions:

Gentlemen:

For open position, keep your arms loose and relaxed. Offer your lady partner both palms, facing up. She’ll gently place her hands in yours – allow them to rest there. Don’t grab with your thumbs. Both your and your partners’ elbows should be bent at your sides, which will put your bodies about a foot or two apart.

For closed position, wrap your arm around your lady’s body so that your palm is resting roughly in the middle of her back. She will drape her arm over yours, resting her hand near your shoulder. Using your unoccupied arm (which is called your “leading arm”), hold her other hand out to the side at about shoulder or chest height, keeping both of your elbows bent. Don’t interlock fingers – your hands should be held palm-on-palm, with the back of your hand facing out. As you dance, use your outstretched hand to lead your partner, gently guiding her upper body in the direction you’re moving.

For closed position, when your partner wraps his arm around your back, lay your arm over his and rest it near his shoulder. Allow your partner to hold your other hand – the back of your hand should be facing towards you, while the back of his should be facing out. Keep your elbows bent and remember to keep a palm-palm hand hold (don’t interlock fingers).

3

Step with your partner. Practice simply moving in time to the music with your partner. You may find that coordinating your movements so that you both step on the beat is harder than you first thought! Regardless of whether you’re in open or closed position, both partners perform basically the same “left four beats, right four beats” motion described above. However, realize that, since both partners are facing each other, one partner will be stepping in the opposite direction as described.

Traditionally, in bachata, the man leads, so, if you’re a lady, you can just follow in the direction of his motion, whether that means stepping to the right or to the left first.

4

Incorporate back-and-forth motion. As your bachata skill improves and you begin dancing with partners, you’ll want to move away from the basic left-and-right bachata steps and towards a more advanced, versatile step pattern that uses back-and-forth movements as well. These back and forth movements are done almost identically to the left-and-right movements – in other words, you’ll step forward three beats and pop your hips on beat four, then step backward 3 beats and pop your hips on beat four, lather, rinse, and repeat. As the leading partner steps forward, the following partner steps back with the corresponding foot.

For beginners, try moving through the basic left-and-right bachata steps twice, then doing a back-and-forth motion twice, then switching back to the left-and-right motion and repeating. Your steps should be as follows:

Note – because, in traditional bachata, the male partner leads, the (to the front) direction refers to his point of view. The female (or following) partner will step backas the leading partner steps forward, and vice versa.

5

Add turns. One of the most essential partner moves done in bachata is the turn. In the most basic variation of this move, the male partner raises his arm, allowing the woman to complete a full turn in time to the music, then both partners return to normal dancing without missing a beat. Follow the instructions below to do a basic turn:

Gentlemen – As you dance, mentally count out the beat (1, 2, 3, 4). On beat 4, begin to raise your leading arm over your partner’s head and begin to release your other arm’s grip (as a reminder, in closed position, the leading arm is the outstretched one, rather than the one wrapped around your partner’s back). On beat 1 of the next measure, your partner will begin to turn in a circle under your arm, gently holding on to your leading arm as she does so. She will finish turning on beat 3 so that on beat 4 you’ll both be dancing in sync again and you’ll be able to move together in the opposite direction on the next beat 1.

Ladies – feel your partner’s leading arm begin to rise on beat 4. Keep holding onto your partner’s leading arm, but release your grip on your partner’s shoulder with your other arm and move under the curve of his leading arm. On beat 1, start to turn in a circle under his leading arm. Try to finish turning on beat 3 so that you can hit beat 4 in the “normal” dancing position and step together in the opposite direction on beat 1.

6

Pay attention to your partner. Above all else, bachata is supposed to be a way for two people to have fun. Both men and women should try to give their partner their full attention. At the simplest level, this means looking at your partner while you dance, not at the floor (and especially not at other people you’d like to dance with). However, this also applies to the way you dance:

Pay attention to your partner’s movements. if you’re leading, make sure your partner is keeping up with you. If you’re following, try to match your partner’s directions and predict which way he’ll go next.

When your partner does a glamorous move like a spin or a turn, give your partner the attention s/he deserves. Generally, unless you’re doing a special synchronized two-person move, you shouldn’t do your own moves while your partner is doing his or hers.

Announcement of engagement

Harry and Meghan attending church on Christmas Day, 2017

Henry, Duke of Sussex, better known as Prince Harry,[3][note 2] is the second son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales. He and Meghan Markle, an American actress best known for her role in the American legal-drama television series Suits, have been in a relationship since June 2016. The relationship was first acknowledged on 8 November 2016, when an official statement was released from the royal family’s communications secretary addressing the “wave of abuse and harassment” directed toward Markle.[4]

On 27 November 2017, Clarence House announced that Prince Harry would marry Meghan Markle in the spring of 2018.[5] They were engaged earlier the same month in London, with the Prince giving Markle a bespoke engagement ring made by Cleave and Company, consisting of a large central diamond from Botswana, with two smaller diamonds from his mother’s jewellery collection.[6] At the same time, it was announced that they would live at Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace following their marriage.[7]

Experts expect the wedding to cost around £500,000;[26] the royal family have announced that they will pay for the wedding.[27] The costs for the cake, the florist, and the catering have been estimated to be £50,000, £110,000, and £286,000 respectively,[28] and the overall cost is expected to be around £32 million.[29] The security costs are expected to be lower than that of the 2011 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.[30] The municipal government in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has reportedly spent £2.6 million on cleaning the town and roads.[30] It has also been predicted that the wedding would trigger a tourism boom and boost the economy up to £500 million.[31]

The British government decided that the wedding day would not be a bank holiday, as was done for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.[33] The wedding was on the same date as the FA Cup Final, which Prince Harry’s brother William normally attends in his role as President of the Football Association.[34] Holding the royal wedding on a weekend is a break with the royal tradition of having weddings on a weekday.[35] On 12 February 2018, Kensington Palace announced that the ceremony will occur at 12:00 Midday BST. Following the ceremony, there was a carriage procession through Windsor. Two receptions are bring held; the first, for those attending the ceremony, will be hosted by the Queen and will take place in St. George’s Hall after the carriage procession. A second reception at Frogmore House, for family and close friends and hosted by the Prince of Wales, will occur later in the day.[36]

The wedding cake is a layered lemon and elderflower cake and decorated with peonies in shades of white and cream.[37] The cake designer Claire Ptak based in London was chosen in March 2018.[38]

Approximately 250 members of the British Armed Forces were involved in the wedding, the majority coming from units that have a connection with Prince Harry:[39]

Wedding party

On 26 April 2018, Kensington Palace announced that Prince Harry had selected his older brother, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, as best man.[40][41] There was initially no confirmation as to whether Prince William would miss the FA Cup Final, which he would normally attend in his role as President of The Football Association, or if he would be able to attend both the wedding and the football. A statement from Kensington Palace that the timing of the wedding would not clash with the match was released in December 2017.[42] However, it was confirmed in March that the Duke would not be attending the final that day.[43]

There were suggestions that the bride’s friend Jessica Mulroney would be her maid of honour.[44][45] In early May 2018, there was confirmation that there would be no maid of honour, and that the bridesmaids and page boys would all be children.[46] A total of ten bridesmaids and page boys were chosen, with the bride and groom each selecting five: two of Meghan Markle’s godchildren, seven-year old Rylan Ritt and her six-year old sister Remi, as well as Brian, John and Ivy Mulroney, the three children of her friend Jessica Mulroney, were chosen by the bride, while Prince Harry’s niece and nephew, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Prince George of Cambridge, as well as his godchildren Florence van Cutsem, Zalie Warren and Jasper Dyer, were selected by the groom.[47][48]

On 18 May 2018, Kensington Palace announced Prince Charles would accompany Meghan Markle down the aisle, after she confirmed her father, Thomas Markle, would not be attending the wedding due to heart surgery.[49][50] The bride spent the night before the wedding at Cliveden House along with her mother, while the groom stayed at Coworth Park Hotel with his brother.[51][52] Markle made her way to the church accompanied by her mother.[53]

Wedding service

From 8.00 am, the public started to arrive at the grounds of Windsor Castle. The main congregation and the guests all arrived at the abbey at 9.30 am followed by members of the Royal Family. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were the last members of the Royal Family to depart for the ceremony, as is tradition, arriving at the church at 11.52 am.[54] Shortly after, Markle arrived with the party of junior attendants. She proceeded down the aisle followed by the attendants, where the Prince of Wales met her to escort her through the quire. He accompanied her to the altar, where Prince Harry was standing.[55][56]

In the marriage vows, the couple promised to “to love and to cherish” each other.[60] This was sealed by the exchange of rings.[60] After the signing of the registers, Harry and Meghan walked down the aisle, pausing briefly to bow and curtsey to the Queen.[61] They were followed in procession by other members of the bridal party, and their families.[60]

With a smaller ceremony and reception at St George’s Hall, the guest list included approximately 600 people, most of whom have a “direct relationship” with the couple.[68] Also, 200 close friends of the couple were invited to attend the evening reception at Frogmore House.[1] Approximately 1,200 members of the public were invited to greet the couple outside the chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle.[68] The invitees outside the chapel were “people from charities, Windsor Castle community members, people from the royal households and the Crown Estate, and local school children.”[69]

Charitable donations

In April 2018, the couple requested that, rather than sending wedding gifts, people should make a charitable donation. They announced a list of seven organisations, none of which they had a formal association with, that they had nominated to benefit from such donations:[75][76]

Crisis: The national homeless body works with thousands of people a year to help rebuild their lives.

The Myna Mahila Foundation: The organisation, based in Mumbai, helps empower women through offering stable employment and breaking cultural taboos around menstrual hygiene. Myna Mahila also teaches women life skills such as maths, English and self defence.

Scotty’s Little Soldiers: The charity supports children who have lost a parent while serving in the British Armed Forces.

StreetGames: The organisation uses sport to help young people and communities become healthier and safer.

Surfers Against Sewage: The national marine conservation body works to protect oceans, beaches, waves and wildlife.

The Wilderness Foundation UK: Vulnerable teenagers from urban communities are taught about the great outdoors and rural employment opportunities.

It also aired on the Republic of Ireland‘s national broadcaster RTÉ, despite the fact that the British royals no longer rule over that part of Ireland.[89]Sinn FéinTDJohn Brady said “As an Irish Republican living in a so called ‘Republic’ I totally oppose RTE using my TV license money to broadcast the wedding of a privileged English monarch [sic].”[90]SenatorNiall Ó Donnghaile also spoke against the broadcast. A group called “Anti Imperialist Action Ireland” also opposed the broadcast, saying “the decision by RTÉ to broadcast the wedding live is part of a wider agenda to portray the struggle for Irish National Liberation as finished, and to present the relationship between Ireland and Britain as a normal one […] the illegal presence of British Imperialism in Ireland will continue to be resisted and Irish Socialist Republicans are committed to challenging and smashing the Normalisation agenda.”[91] RTÉ defended its decision, citing “huge public interest” and that the coverage was being provided for free.[92]